Disclaimer: I in no way own SGA, if I had the show wouldn't have been canceled.
PrologueIt had been a hell of a day. What with actually arriving in Atlantis, only to find the city's ZedPM upon the edge of depletion. Thank goodness for the failsafe! Yes, a hell of a day. Rodney sighed as he stood on the pier looking out at the ocean. The water looked so inviting. Rodney bent down trailing his fingers through the water, feeling the ripples swirl around his fingers. Looking out at the endless ocean he came to a quick decision and after a brief glance to ensure that he was alone, Rodney stripped off his clothes and dove into the cool waters. He frolicked among the waves before diving deep to inspect his new environs. He felt so free here, in a way he rarely felt on land. He did a few barrel rolls just for the hell of it before breaching the surface only to joyfully dive back down again. After an hour of play, Rodney returned to the pier and pulled on his clothes, hating how they stuck to his wet body. 'Ugh, chafing. Next time I'll just have to bring a towel.' Rodney picked up his socks and shoes, there was no way he was going to squish through Atlantis. With one last look at the ocean Rodney headed back inside.
Chapter 1"Ronan, what's your status?"
"I've got Teyla's knee immobilized, but we're pretty much stuck here. You and McKay?"
"The earthquake caused the entrance to collapse; but, we've still got access to the tunnels. We'll try to reach you that way. Sheppard out."
John sighed as he made his way back to the main cavern. Rodney's ranting was back in full-force now that the danger had passed. Knowing that he used it as a coping mechanism, John tried to ignore the irritation he felt building; but that in conjunction with his headache, and his patience was fast approaching it's end.
"McKay, that's enough."
Sheppard could see him about to protest but whatever he saw in his face stopped him leaving an awkward silence between them. John grabbed his pack and proceeded down the tunnel. Glancing over John saw Rodney, head bowed, fiddling with the Life Signs Detector as he fell in-step with him. John reached out and patted Rodney on the shoulder, feeling the need to clear the air between the two and was relieved when he got a wry grin in response.
Many blocked trails and hours later, they ended up in a large cavern with what looked to be a deep pool of water. After searching for any other exits and finding none Rodney threw down his pack in frustration and plopped down on the ground. John grimaced when McKay pulled out two MREs from his pack and offered him one. John had never understood how McKay could eat these and like them, but by this point his hunger was so great he didn't care. Sighing he sat down as well and proceeded to eat. John was just beginning to relax when Rodney snapped his fingers pointing at the pond. He hurried to the lip and peered down into the depths before looking over to Sheppard with a large grin on his face.
"Rivers!"
Rodney sighed when Sheppard gave him a bemused look.
"Don't you remember? When we were checking out the terrain the HUD displayed underwater rivers that ran through the mountain. This may be one of them. Most of the rivers crossed the entire span of the mountain so there's a good chance we could get to Teyla and Ronan.
John made to take off his boots but Rodney stopped him.
"I'll check it out."
Seeing Sheppard's skeptical smile, Rodney huffed.
"What? I'm a good swimmer actually and I could probably swim farther than you anyway. Not that I don't think you very capable of course, but you are on the lean side." Realizing how that sounded, Rodney hurried to dig himself out of the hole he was making before it became a grave. "Um, that is to say I have a bigger chest so I'll have a bigger lung capacity."
John smiled. This was probably true, the man could yell at his staff for quite a long time without seeming to pause for breath.
"Thanks buddy, but how about you get the next one."
After all there was no need for Rodney to go and endanger himself if they couldn't even get through in the first place. John began to strip but paused, "Could you turn around please."
Rodney quirked his brow but mercifully turned his back to him without mockery.
John finished ridding himself of his clothes and dove into the water. He dove down to the bottom of the pool and looked onward it was extremely dark which could only mean the waterway didn't open into a passage for quite a distance. He returned to the surface and dashed the water out of his eyes. Looking up, he spotted Rodney sitting at the lip of the pool.
"I'm going to need a flashlight."
John nodded his thanks and with a big breath dove under.
Rodney began to worry when minutes later there was still no sign of Sheppard. He was debating going in after him when he broke the surface. Relieved, he watched as he treaded water.
"The waterway extends pretty far. It breaks into another cavern not too far from here. It seems as though this path might just go through the whole mountain and with any luck there will be more spaces where we can surface to breathe. I figure it's worth a shot. If it doesn't work out, then we come back here. Atlantis will dial in when we're late and send a rescue team to get us out."
Rodney nodded, at least it was something. He tapped his radio to let Ronan know of the plan and began packing up their gear, blessing the military for their waterproof packs- which meant he would at least have dry clothes at the end of all this. However the pack would undoubtedly chafe his skin, an affliction which seemed to happen a lot in this galaxy. He was drawn out of his musings when he heard the splash of water.
"Ready?"
"Yes, let's go."
Rodney opened his eyes underwater and hurried to catch up to Sheppard who was waiting some distance ahead of him. John was experiencing a faint burn in his chest when he started kicking upward towards the surface. He drew in a great breath of air as he breached the surface and looked over at Rodney who seemed none the worse for their venture and was even grinning.
"Not so bad, eh?"
John looked around and was disappointed to find that they weren't in another cavern. Saying as much to Rodney brought on a dismissive hand wave.
"Actually, this is normal. In systems like these, the determinant is how the terrain has changed over the years. The water levels could have once filled this entire passage but any number of things could have effected a change in how much water now feeds through the mountain; which is lucky for us, seeing as how we have breathable air here now."
Rodney shone the torch around the surprisingly large air pocket and noticed a small rock ledge not too high up. Sheppard could at least rest as he reconnoitered the next passage. He swam towards the wall, treading water until Sheppard made his way over.
"You can climb up there can't you?"
John assessed the wall and decided yes he could reach the outcropping. Nodding, he began his climb and was soon settling into tight quarters. Rodney passed his pack along to him. John reached down a hand to help him up but Rodney shook his head no.
"I'm going to explore the next section. I may be gone for awhile, depending on how long the passage is."
John made quick to protest.
"Rodney no. I should"
His words fell into silence as Rodney gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
"I know my own limits. Trust me John."
Rodney let Sheppard stare searchingly at him. He didn't know what he was looking for but could only guess he found it when he nodded.
John sighed as McKay disappeared from his sight. All he could do now was wait.
Rodney swam quickly, the distance and lack of air as nothing to him. He surfaced briefly preparing to make the return trip to John. It was then that he began to calculate the distance he'd traveled and was left with one thought. There was no way a person of his perceived physical weaknesses could have traveled so far. He was so screwed. Rodney gave a disgruntled sigh before diving back in the water. It couldn't be helped. Atlantis wasn't due to check in for another few days, and lord knows he didn't think Ronan and Teyla should be alone together to come up with needless ideas for rescuing him and John. Not with Teyla's bum knee at any rate. Well, it looks like his secret was about to come out.
In no time at all Rodney was back with Sheppard and trying to scramble up the ledge he was perched upon. John looked on in concern as Rodney refused to meet his eyes and came to one conclusion.
"I take it we can't go any further?"
Rodney hurriedly looked up and stammered out a reply.
"No. I mean I can go further but you as you are can't."
Rodney slashed a hand to negate his statement not noticing Sheppard's building ire.
"That is to say, you don't have the speed to get there under your own merit. Even supposing that you could build up that kind of speed, doing so would deplete all your oxygen."
John's brow rose throughout Rodney's speech before he wiped his face of all expression.
"McKay, I'm definitely in better shape than you so there's no way I'll have trouble keeping up with you."
Rodney rolled his eyes.
"Sheppard, what I said wasn't meant to question your abilities; it was a statement of fact. I was able to swim the distance because I have a gift particularly suited to it. I'm a selkie."
Rodney saw his confusion and heaved a sigh before explaining.
"Back on Earth there used to be stories of seals who could shed their skins and become human when on land. People today think it a myth but there are still some of us around. Because I can become a seal in the water I have all the inherent abilities of one. I can swim extremely fast and stay under water for almost thirty minutes. I'm telling you this because we need to get to Teyla and Ronan, and without me changing we can't make it through this next passage."
Rodney frowned when he saw John's doubting expression. Typical, he shares his secret for the first time and the person he tells doesn't believe him. He was therefore quite shocked when Sheppard didn't question him about being a selkie but something else entirely.
"I see how changing would allow you to get through the passage Rodney, but I don't understand how it will help me to do the same."
Rodney turned a dull red in embarrassment.
"After I changed, you would hold on to me and I would tow you through the water until we reached the next pocket of air. As I said, I swim quite fast when I'm changed and you shouldn't run out of air."
John nodded in agreement before shrugging on both his pack and Rodney's, quite rightly assuming he would not be able to carry his. Ready to go he nodded and they both dropped down into the water. Even knowing it was coming John was still surprised when Rodney's body began to shift. In the blink of an eye he was staring into the face of a seal. He was reassured that Rodney was still Rodney when he quirked his head as if to say, "Well, get on with it." With a nod to himself, he wrapped his arms around the neck of the seal and gave a slight squeeze to let him know he was ready. John was in shock as his body sped through the water through no help of his own. It seemed as if this trip and the one following it were over almost as soon as they had begun. As they broke the surface for the last time Rodney changed back into his human self and wrapped an arm around John keeping them both afloat as he gasped for breath. The final passage had pushed his lungs almost to their limits but as he looked around he noticed they were in another cavern, not unsimilar to the one they had found their river in. John became aware that Rodney was kicking his legs and towing him towards the edge of the pool; he let go of Rodney and was unceremoniously pulled out of the water. He looked up into Ronan's amused eyes before Rodney made himself known.
"Hey Conan, how about a little help here."
John shrugged off both packs and began to dress as Ronan hauled Rodney out of the pool. He looked over to Teyla who appeared to be feeling no pain. Ronan was still smiling though.
"Hey McKay, real nice making Sheppard do all the heavy lifting. Worried you might not be able to make it through otherwise."
Before Rodney could start in on one of his famous rants, John cut in.
"Do you know how long it would've taken to get to you and Teyla if I hadn't."
Some more good-natured teasing was done but the remaining days until the check-in were passed easily enough until they ran out of drugs to give Teyla. After which, they were all glad when Atlantis radioed them and sent out a jumper to pick them up.
Epilogue
John was passing through some of the more remote hallways of Atlantis when some movement outside caught his peripheral vision. He turned fully to look out the windows and saw nothing. He was about to continue on when a familiar head broke the surface. John ventured out to the dock and sat down, gaze intent on the seal happily leaping through the waves. The caverns in the mountain had been so dark that he never got a good look at the seal, but now he marveled at its grace and fluidity as it cut through the water. He lost track of time as the seal dove below the water one last time. Focusing back in on his surroundings he stood up just as Rodney broke the surface and clambered aboard the dock. Knowing he was caught John shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Hey buddy."
Rodney froze momentarily when he noticed Sheppard before continuing to towel off.
"John."
John felt a rare blush rising to his cheeks and began rubbing his neck in embarrassment.
"Look Rodney, I was passing by when I saw you out in the water. I didn't get a good look at you in the caverns and I was curious. I didn't mean to intrude."
John nodded in farewell, turning to go back inside when McKay's voice stopped him.
"You didn't tell anyone."
He looked back and saw the questions in Rodney's eyes. John walked back towards him and paused looking for the right words.
"I know what it's like to be different. I mean hey, I fly spaceships with my mind. Besides it wasn't my secret to tell."
Rodney nodded in acceptance.
"Thank you."
John nodded back and shifted his weight finding his boots utterly fascinating. Rodney heaved a sigh as he pulled on his pants.
"Go ahead and ask Sheppard."
John looked up and grinned sheepishly.
"What's it like?"
Rodney looked pensive for a moment before he found the words he wanted.
"Flying, it's like flying. I'm free out there in a way I'm just not on land."
John nodded. He understood that one all too well. Rodney tried to sound nonchalant but John could hear the underlying nervous there.
"So, maybe if you ever wanted to see what it was like I could take you around. Show you the sights as it were."
John grinned.
"Yeah?"
Rodney grinned back.
"Yeah."
El finHope you all enjoyed. Please review.
Legessa
Creator of Chaos and Destruction since 1982